Chicago Basin
comprises the upper portion of the Needle Creek watershed in the
Needle Mountains (Colorado), a subrange of the
San Juan Mountains in the
US State of
Colorado. It lies within the
Weminuche Wilderness, part of the
San Juan National Forest. Needle Creek is an east-side tributary of the
Animas River. The basin is a popular destination in summer for climbers and backpackers. The upper portion of the basin is surrounded by three
fourteeners:
Mount Eolus,
Windom Peak, and
Sunlight Peak
Sunlight Peak is a high mountain summit of the Needle Mountains range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The fourteener is located in the Weminuche Wilderness of San Juan National Forest, northeast by north ( bearing 32°) of the ...
.
Columbine Pass lies to the east of the lower basin.
The standard route of access to Chicago Basin is somewhat unusual. The
Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad
The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, often abbreviated as the D&SNG, is a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge heritage railroad that operates on of track between Durango and Silverton, in the U.S. state of Colorado. The railway is a fe ...
, driven by a historical
steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
, runs through the canyon of the Animas River. It makes a stop (when requested) at Needleton, a location near the confluence of Needle Creek and the Animas. Visitors to Chicago Basin typically ride the train from Durango or Silverton, get off at Needleton, and hike about 6 miles up Needle Creek to the basin itself. There are mountain goats at Chicago Basin.
[Louis W. Dawson II, ''Dawson's Guide to Colorado's Fourteeners, Volume 2'', Blue Clover Press, 1996, ] Many backpackers continue over Columbine Pass to the watershed of
Vallecito Creek.
References
External links
Hiking Journal of a trip to the Chicago Basin includes pictures
Chicago Basin Trip Planning Guide
Valleys of Colorado
San Juan Mountains (Colorado)
San Juan National Forest
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